Hydro World –
An assessment of the southern Sekong River Basin in Lao PDR is being performed that will “help decision makers and private sector better understand the cumulative impacts of energy project development in areas where multiple projects are planned.”
According to a press release from Multiconsult in Norway, Multiconsult, Deltares and Lao Consulting are working with the International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank Group) to complete this work.
Multiconsult says the Sekong is “one of the most important tributaries of the Mekong” and, together with the Sesan and Srepok rivers, forms a system known as 3S in the lower Mekong.
The partners will examine various hydropower and renewable energy scenarios for the Sekong basin and assess its overall cumulative impacts on the environment, livelihoods and economy. The study also will provide recommendations for future sustainable hydropower and renewable energy development on the Sekong, including plans and measures to avoid-minimize-compensate the cumulative impacts, Multiconsult says.